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Review
. 2019 Oct 18;8(10):1720.
doi: 10.3390/jcm8101720.

Left Ventricular Assist Devices 101: Shared Care for General Cardiologists and Primary Care

Aditi Singhvi  1 , Barry Trachtenberg  2
Affiliations
Review

Left Ventricular Assist Devices 101: Shared Care for General Cardiologists and Primary Care

Aditi Singhvi et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Ambulatory patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) are increasing in number, and so is their life expectancy. Thus, there is an increasing need for care of these patients by non-LVAD specialists, such as providers in the emergency department, urgent care centers, community-based hospitals, outpatient clinics, etc. Non-LVAD specialists will increasingly come across LVAD patients and should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide initial assessment and management for these complex patients. These encounters may be for LVAD-related or unrelated issues. However, there are limited data and guidelines to assist non-LVAD specialists in caring for these complex patients. The aim of our review, targeting primary care providers (both inpatient and outpatient), general cardiologists, and other providers is to describe the current status of durable LVAD therapy in adults, patient selection, management strategies, complications and to summarize current outcome data.

Keywords: complications; left ventricular assist devices; management; outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Barry Trachtenberg is a consultant for Abbott. Aditi Singhvi has no disclosures.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Components of a left ventricular assist device system. (A): Representation of a patient with an LVAD depicting its various external components. (B): Inset showing the heart in cross-section with the internal components and connections of an LVAD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pump housing and impeller design. (A): (left) Axial flow pump: HeartMate II LVAD (taken from Figure 2 in the HeartMate II left ventricular assist system instructions for use). (B) (right) Centrifugal flow pump: HeartWare assist device (taken from Figure 2 in the HeartWare assist device patient manual).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Approach to an unconscious patient with an LVAD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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